Blackhawk In Other Media

The Blackhawks appeared in media other than comic books. Unfortunately, I have little information about most of these appearances.

Radio: Jim Steranko mentions the existance of a Blackhawk radio series in his History of the Comics. Timothy O'Donnell submits that it was on the ABC radio network in 1951. A recent article in Comic Book Marketplace stated that the radio program first 'aired' on September 20th, 1950, and was broadcast every Wednesday evening (*5:30p.m.) through Jan. 3, 1951.

Novel: In 1982, William Rotsler wrote a Blackhawk novel, published by Warner books.

Games: Blitzkrieg, written by Jeff O'Hare, edited by Thomas Cook, cover art by Kyle Baker and Bob LeRose, interior art by Howard Chaykin, maps by Ike Scott and Hans Koch. This game module provides the character data and other information that allow gamers to play the Blackhawks in the DC Heroes Role Playing Game. Game data on other characters includes Sgt. Rock and Easy Company and several villains like Colonel Von Tepp and Doctor Meerzaum. Two vehicles, the Grumman Skyrocket and the Nazis' Sky Skull, are described in game terms as are locations like Blackhawk Island. Finally, it provides scenarios to guide players through several adventures. The information and descriptions are based entirely on the Chaykin Blackhawk continuity and draw nothing from the original series. There is little here for Blackhawk fans who are not also gamers. Published in 1988 by Mayfair Games Inc., P.O. Box 48539, Niles, IL, 60648. ISBN: 0-912771-89-5. [Source identified by David Chapman. Review by DLT]

James Lagner has created Blackhawk versions of P-38s to use in the online flight simulation game called Air Warrior. Click here to see more.

Foldees: These were cards with pictures of various DC superheroes that could be folded to combine them in different ways. I must admit I don't quite see the point, but they are fairly rare collectors items today. Here is the Blackhawk foldee which can be found on Two Tub Man's website. [Submitted by Kevin Ahearn]

Super Heroines of the Silver Age: This site features digital "photomanipulation" of images of real female models (mostly, there are a couple of men included, for contrast I suppose) to create photographs of comic book characters. One of them is Lady Blackhawk. This is an interesting site but please note that the pictures are a bit racy (though not even R rated if they were a movie) so don't look if you are easily offended.

G.I. Joe: John Kimsey sent me the following - "I first heard about the 12" Blackhawk set from Entertainment Earth in their "coming soon" section. I then received a catalog from them with a photo of the set in it. However, when I tried to pre-order the set, I was told it was no longer in their catalog and they didn't know if or when it would be available. So, I then called the G.I. Joe Collector's Club, because I am a member and they carried the Sgt. Rock set. They told me that news of the Blackhawk set had prematurely "leaked" and would not be available until 2002, but when it is available they would carry the item. Anyway, from what I can see from the photo the set looks really neat. The set up is the same as the Sgt. Rock set with a figure in the middle and flanked by two uniform sets and the lid is a comic book illustration of the main Blackhawk character. The figure is dressed in what looks like the early Blackhawk uniform, all black with the gold Blackhawk logo in the center. One of the uniform sets is blue and the other set looks like a later variation of the black uniform. I cannot make out the same details, such as accessories." John also sent the picture that has since been removed from the catalog. It's a bit blurry, but does give an idea of what the set may look like when it is released. CLICK HERE for picture. UPDATE: The latest word is that the G.I. Joe Blackhawk is back on the schedule for a March 2002 release. Check Entertainment Earth for details.

Yearbook:Click here to see the cover of a 1944 yearbook from a school in Davenport, Iowa. I'm pretty sure this one is not intended to have any connection to the comics, but I did think it was an interesting coincidence that the cover included both the name "Blackhawk" and an airplane. Thanks to Bob Fulker for submitting this.